Improvement in mechanical musical instruments



E. P. NEEDHAM.

Mechanical Musical Instrument,

Patented May 27,1879.

i'z'qi.

"ii/awa s %Mw $3M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' ELIAS P. NEEDHAM, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

JMPROVEMENT IN MECHANICAL MUSlGAL iNSTRUMENTS.

Specification l'orming part of Letters Patent No. 215,83 1, dated May27, lSTll; application liled li ebruary 24, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ELIAS P. Nnnnimn, of the city and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Improvement in It chanical lvlusiealinstruments, oi which the lollowing is a description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specilimition.

This invention relates to organs and other wind musical instrumentswhich are mechani cally played by means of a music strip or sheetperforated to correspond with the dilt'erent notes or sounds it isdesired to produce, and caused, in its transit for playing, to open andclose a valve air-ducts in an action board or device, which may eithercontain the reeds or connect with the pipes of the. instrumentaccordingly as the latter is a reed or pipe organ, or which may be aboard containing perforations communicating with a system of what areknown as pneumatic keys."

The invention is applicable alike to those instr ments or" the kind herereferred to, which have the air supplied to them either by suethin-hollows or by lorcingbellows, or other contrivances.

it is very important in all such mechanical musical instruments that theperforated music strips or sheets should make a close valvular lit withthe action-board over or in contact with which they pass. Such musicstrips or sheets are ordinarily made of paper which is moderately stiffand possesses considenblc resiliency, so that when such a music strip orsheet l'lOXOtl against the bend given to it by winding or unwindingrollers and devices used to eltect its transit in playing, as is thecasein arrangements previous to this invention, it is liable to form amore or less imperfect valvular contact with the action-board, and tocrack or break, which affects its durabilit The object of this inventionis to render the iusic strip or sheet more durable, to make it morereadily adapt itself to the curvature of the surt'acc of theaction-board or valve-seat over or in contact with which it passes, andto make it more manageable.

To these and other ends the invention consists in a combination, in amusical instrument, of a perlorated action-board and winding andunwinding and feed rollers, all arranged in such relation to each otherthat the perforated strip or sheet in its transit for playing has itstlexure always in the same direction, thus preserving the resilienttendency of the strip or sheet to retain the curvature it I as when onthe roller or rollers which carry it, and cansing it to closely hug thevalve-seat over or against which it moves in its transit when playing,as well as avoiding all liability of it to crack or break by strainingit against the bend given to it by said roller or rollers.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of areed-organ, in part, having my invention applied; Fig. 2, a verticalsection ot'thes me; 3, a diagram, showing the tlexure which theperforated music strip or sheet assumes by the winding oi'iton theroller or rollers which carry it, and Fig. i a diagram in illustrationof the reversed tlexures given to the strip or sheet under previouscombinations or arrangements.

Similar letters of relt'erence indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures.

A in Figs. 1 and 2 represents the casing of the instrument. B is adelivery roller, on which the perforated music strip or sheet 0 is firstwound, and D is a takeup roller, on waich it is wound as itis unwoundfrom the deliveryroller. E is the perforated action-board, constructedto present a curved valve seat or face, 7), over or in contact withwhich the music strip or sheet passes in its transit for playing.

In the drawings the music strip or sheet (3 represented as being drivenby means of supplementary feeding devices, consisting of rollers c and(I, the former of which is con nectcd by pulleys and belt or band withthe take-up roller 1); but this means of driving is not my invention,and I lay no claim to it.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2 ol the drawings, it will be seen that thetlexure of the strip or sheet 0 between the delivery-roller, or, as itmay be termed, music-roller, E3, and the take-up roller D is in the samedirection as the llexure (exhibited in Fig. 3) produced by the windingof it on said rollers, and that it readily adapts itself to thecurvature of the valve-seat I), thus obtaining for it the severaladvantages hereinbciore named, and which the strip, when reverselyflexed between the the flexure given to it by the rollers, asillustrated by the diagram in Fig. 4, does not pos-- sess.

It is possible that in some cases the take up roller may be dispensedwith, and the strip or sheet be delivered at its one end in the form ofa-loose coil.

I am aware that it is not new in apparatus other than that adapted tothe playing of musical instruments to arrange a strip or sheet to travelbetween a winding and an unwinding roller with its fiexure always in thesame direction, and therefore I do not broadly claim a strip or sheet soarranged; but

What I do claim as my invention is 1. The combination, in a musicalinstrument, of a perforated action-board, a perforated strip or sheetpassing in contact with said action-board, and winding and unwindingrollers and feed-rollers, when the whole are arranged in such relationto each other that the perforated strip or sheet in its transit forplaying has its flexure always in the same direction, substantially asspecified.

2. The combination, with a delivery-roller, a take-up roller, a pair offeed-rollers, and an intermediate perforated action-board, of aperforated music strip or sheet, arranged so-that in passing over or incontact with theactionboard during its transit for playing, its flexnrebetween said rollers is in the same direction as the flexure produced bythe winding of it on said roller or rollers, essentially as and forthepurposes herein set forth.

ELIAS P. N EEDHAM;

Witnesses:

HENRY T. BROWN, EDW. P. JESSUP.

